Water in Your Home

Water in Your Home

Water is a valuable and vital part of everyday living. However, in Australia's unpredictable climate, people need to be careful and smart about using water. The following pages provide a range of information on how to manage water well at home.

Click a link below for more information:

  • Rainwater Tank Rebate Program
    Marrickville Council promotes the installation of rainwater tanks, and offers rainwater tank rebates and free rainwater tank workshops to help residents install tanks.
     
  • Safe Greywater Reuse
    Marrickville Council strongly encourages the sustainable management of water, including, where possible, the safe and environmentally responsible use of greywater. This section provides useful information on how to safely and successfully make the most of your greywater.
     
  • Drought Tolerant Gardens
    Since much of the water used in the home is used for irrigation of outdoor areas, one of the ways to achieve significant water savings at home is to develop a drought tolerant garden. This page gives helpful advice and tips about making your garden tolerant to drought.
     
  • Water Conservation at Home
    Marrickville Council encourages everyone to do whatever they can to conserve water. There are many everyday things people can do to save water in the home and this page provides plenty of information about becoming water efficient at home.
     
  • Stormwater on your Property
    Around 60% of the stormwater that enters local waterways in the Marrickville LGA, flows from hard surfaces on private property such roofs, driveways and footpaths. This page provides tips on how to reduce the impact of stormwater coming from private property and also includes fact sheets and links on water sensitive urban design.
     
  • Getting Involved in Sustainable Water Management
    This page describes the various ways you can get involved in sustainable water management in the local area.
     

Quick tips for saving water
 

  • Use rainwater to flush your toilets. Marrickville Council's Rainwater Tank Rebate Program is now available to all residents and businesses in the local government area with rebates of up to $2000 per household available.
     
  • Protect your local waterways by reducing the area of paved or 'impervious' surfaces on your property and directing stormwater runoff from paved surfaces onto gardens and lawns rather than to the street drainage system.
       
  • A leaking toilet can waste more than 16,000 litres of water a year. An easy way to check if your toilet is slowly leaking is to add a few drops of food colouring to your toilet cistern. Don't flush the toilet for at least one hour. If colouring shows up in the toilet bowl after an hour, you've got a leak.
     
  • Using organic fertilisers like manure or compost in the garden should reduce the amount of water it needs. It will also reduce the need to use artificial fertilisers, unless a plant is suffering a particular deficiency. Most Australian native plants however will grow well without fertilisers or regular watering.